$20,000 bail for pretend policewoman

Sylvia Ester Bonas, 22, of Laventille Road appeared before Magistrate Indira Misir- Gosine who read the charge that on Harris Street, without the authority of the Commissioner of Police, did assume the name of a police officer, that is, Woman Police Officer Bonas, which the said Sylvie Ester Bonas would by law not be entitled to do, on her own.

The charge was laid under the Police Service Act 2006 and followed the arrest which took place in proximity of the courthouse by Cpl Kevin Crawford and one of the court prosecutors Sgt Gordon Maharaj. Bonas was taken before Justice of the Peace Sandra Soogrim-Ramsaran Thursday afternoon in the same courthouse and was remanded into custody to reappear yesterday.

The woman spent the night in a cell at the nearby police station and was handcuffed yesterday morning when she was taken before Magistrate Misir-Gosine in the Fourth Court. After the charge was read and Bonas pleaded not guilty, attorney Reno Teekasingh pleaded for bail, telling the court the defendant lives with her family.

Magistrate Misir- Gosine asked Bonas about her occupation and she said she was an accountant, but not qualified. She then said she was doing a course in Accounting in Small Business. The magistrate questioned Bonas further about her qualification and said, “I don’t want you to be accused of impersonating an accountant as well.” Cpl Crawford who laid the charge brought a t-shirt into the courtroom as evidence.

Bail was set at $20,000 and the case adjourned to May 25.